• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 9 hours ago

Does lead-in programming still matter to the networks?

Sure -- if you have live sports, live award shows, live reality-show finales, and breaking news -- and perhaps not just on broadcast networks.

Strong viewing of an NFL Sunday football game on a broadcast network can yield big results -- leading into scripted or unscripted entertainment programming that has its initial premiere of an episode.

But that’s not all. It could even help a streaming service -- especially if there is live content.

During a recent earnings call with analysts, CEO of Fox Corp. Lachlan Murdoch said that in one instance for its streaming platform Fox One, over half of its viewing got a boost from viewers watching live news as its lead-in programming. Murdoch did not provide specific details.

A highly rated broadcast show with an 8 p.m. time slot can certainly help the start of a 9 p.m. show that follows it -- but the effect is limited.

NBC and CBS can also benefit from so-called blocks of programming from the same named franchises, such as NBCU’s “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med” and “Chicago PD.”

CBS can do the same with "FBI" and "NCIS."

This evolved strategy then becomes an "event night" of sorts -- if adequately marketed -- where it can pull in respectable viewership results.

Streaming platforms will increase live sports as well as other live programming as they grow to keep viewers hanging around on their platform.

One of the strongest examples is with the Super Bowl -- where a broadcast network typically gives what it believes is a major TV series in the making a time slot right after the big NFL game, which regularly earns 120 million average viewers.

CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox have done this multiple times in their history of starting entertainment shows -- scripted and unscripted.

The question remains: to what extent can a network and/or streamer do this in years to come? And where does this lead promotional efforts?

Right now, the broadcast networks advertise new episodes of TV shows that air the next day (after their broadcast run) on their respective streaming platforms.

"On-demand” streaming platforms cater to the ultimate consumer behavior of choice.

But how to tell them "here is something else you should watch" continues to be a complex, evolving effort.